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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26008723">Living Nightmares</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DicciSmalls/pseuds/DicciSmalls'>DicciSmalls</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:35:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,098</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26008723</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DicciSmalls/pseuds/DicciSmalls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The low growl into his ear from the creature was enough to double the amount of goosebumps he had before, as he closed his eyes hard and prepared himself for what he knew was about to happen; although he didn’t keep quiet nor stop trying to scoot free. He felt it’s jaws getting closer, closer; he knew this was it, so he let out one last ditch scream, before . . . </p><p>Snap!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>From the rumble in the distance, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy. The dark, empty highway surrounded on either side by miles of dark forest only added to the on-edge feeling that was causing his palms to sweat profusely, as he slowly made his way down the bitumen.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Richie didn’t know where he was; the surroundings all looked the same. Dark, gloomy, empty. In the distance, though, he could see the faint glow of lights. Not so bright for them to be a set of headlights heading his way, but bright enough for him to decide they could possibly be lights of a town nearby. That gave him hope, speed walking his way in that direction. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Hope that he could find someone who could tell him where he was; hope that he would be safe and warm soon enough. The chilly air of the stormy night easily passed through the thin material of his t-shirt and sleep shorts, causing goosebumps to temporarily mar his usually smooth skin; up his long, thin arms and legs, even the pale skin under his worn-out Nirvana shirt he would usually sleep in, a light spray of goosebumps had spread. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">As he walked further on, part of him suspected the goosebumps weren’t all just because of the cool air. No, Richie felt eyes on him. Eyes that felt inhuman, unnatural even. It made that uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach spike to a much, much worse feeling. The dark hairs on the back of his neck, and his arms, were certainly standing up the further down the road he walked. The closer he got to the distant lights - the distant town, the worse he felt. His body was clearly telling him something . . .</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s3">“Stop! Don’t go any further, Rich! Please!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">But he couldn’t stop. Not now, even doing that felt as bad as - maybe even worse than -continuing to move forward. No, he had to keep moving. And he did. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">A couple more minutes of walking, and he was stopped by a loud crack, Followed by a thump. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Richie looked around, squinting to see better in the dark night, trying to find the source of the noise. Nothing, until his eyes landed on a tree that seemed to have freshly fallen a short distance behind him that was definitely not there, laying across the road a few seconds ago. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Cautiously pacing over to the fallen timber, deep blue eyes glancing every which way to make sure nothing could jump out and attack him, Richie soon came upon a huge mark in the tree. Three large, long lines. They looked like an animal - a huge one at that - had scratched the tree, and it seemed big enough to knock said tree down. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">With more investigation, he found that the end of the log seemed to have been snapped right off of the stump that, in and of itself, had been partially ripped out of the ground too. He was immediately filled with the urge to vomit. The fear of what could have done this was too strong for him to handle as he doubled over on the side of the road, hand against the rough bark of the tree for support as he emptied his last meal out onto the dirt. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">With his head down, he wasn’t able to be hyper-aware of his surroundings as he was prior. That was, until the shrubbery nearby started rustling as if something was moving through the thick, unkempt bushes towards him. Still groggy from vomiting, the immediate instinct Richie felt was to rush backwards, away from the possible threat. As he did so, the back of his bare heels hit the edge of the bitumen that was slightly higher than the natural ground at that spot, causing him to fall and skid a couple of centimetres on his backside. He only looked down momentarily at his hands - he’d used them to break his fall, now his palms were scratched up just enough to bleed the slightest amount - and winced from the light sting. Suddenly, his eyes shot back towards the bushes; they’d stopped rustling and for some inexplicable reason, the silence was worse than the rustling. The only noise was the booming of thunder every six or so seconds, and the pattering of light rain starting to fall harder now. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">He could feel the anxiety twisting up his stomach, and the need to throw up again; but there wasn’t any time for that. Before he could even get back up, a dark figure leaped out of the shadows and - it, itself, looked like a shadow - but Richie didn’t have time to process this fact further, as it rushed towards him, and he in turn rushed to get up off the pavement, letting out a scream of curses. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">He’d made it maybe a metre or two before the thing, whatever it was, knocked him down and pinned him to the wet road. He could feel it on his back, weighing him down, and could only just see it enough to see it’s rows and rows of razor sharp teeth, jaw opening wide and getting closer to him. It’s hot, wet breath, along with the contrast of the cold raindrops, was a weird feeling hitting his face as he laid there conscious yet unable to move. He could feel a faint sting on his forehead; he probably hit his head on the way down and didn’t realise it due to more pressing matters. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The low growl into his ear from the creature was enough to double the amount of goosebumps he had before, as he closed his eyes hard and prepared himself for what he knew was about to happen; although he didn’t keep quiet nor stop trying to scoot free. He felt it’s jaws getting closer, closer; he knew this was it, so he let out one last ditch scream, before . . . </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s4">Snap!</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Richie woke up with a sharp gasp, eyes darting around sharply. His surroundings looked familiar and, once his eyes adjusted to the light of the room, it hit him; he was in his bedroom. With a sigh, he fell back into the soft bedsheets. He was safe. It was all a nightmare, and he wasn’t dead. He was in California; today his family would be moving to a small town in Oregon. He already forgot the town’s name, but he didn’t care. He didn’t even want to go.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">There was a soft knock at his bedroom door, so he peaked a tired eye open as he grumbled a soft, “come in,” and waited to see who it was. The door creaked open gently, and his mother, Bailey, came into view. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Hey, hon. I heard you scream, everything okay?” Her voice soft, gentle and comforting as it always was. She sat on the edge of his bed, a faint frown on her lips. The golden glow of the sun coming through the window lit up her almost golden blonde hair, making her almost look like an angel. She was the closest any human could possibly ever get to one, in Richie’s eyes at least. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Yeah, ‘m okay, mom.” He replied, voice gravelly from just waking up, but his gratitude for her checking in on him showed in his voice and on his features regardless. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Was it the nightmare again?” She questioned, and Richie nodded slowly in response. He’d been having that nightmare for a while now. It didn’t happen every night, but at least three times a week. It started a few months ago, happening once every few weeks but had only gotten worse since. He woke up with a piercing headache every time. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Bailey stood up, straightening her t-shirt and offering her eldest child a reassuring half-smile. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“I’m sorry, hun. I made breakfast, so come down when you’re ready and you can try to take your mind off of it.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">He gave her a smile and pushed himself to sit up, rubbing the sleep out of his dreary, tired eyes. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Okay, I’ll be down in a minute.” </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">She hummed a soft but catchy tune as she left, closing the door behind her gently. He could hear her footsteps heading down the hall, probably to his brother or sister’s room. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Moments later, Richie rolled out of bed with a grunt, pulling the bedsheets with him to pile onto the boxes nearby; his whole room was already packed up, minus small things he would be carrying with him for the move. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Reaching down to unplug his phone charger, Richie picked up his phone in the same motion. Stretching as he stood up straight again - back popping multiple times in the process - he tossed the charger cable towards the nearby boxes, and unlocked his phone, sending a quick text to his friends for them to come over to say goodbye or even help out if they wanted, before putting his phone down once more. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">He took a moment to rub his face, before grabbing the clothes he left out for himself the previous night to wear for the day -rather than spend the drive to his new home in his hole riddled Nirvana tee and Scooby-Doo boxer shorts - before heading to the bathroom down the hall. Kicking the door shut behind him, he got a good look at himself in the bathroom mirror. His short, dark curls were a mess, sticking up every which way and there were bags under his eyes, contrasting the dark blue of his irises and his pale skin. He found it vaguely amusing, but wasted no more time in putting his clothes down, getting undressed and starting the shower, washing his hair and himself. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It was only a quick shower; Richie knew he’d get his ass kicked by his dad, David, if he had a shower any longer than five minutes. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">After getting out, drying himself and getting dressed - black, worn hi-top chuck taylor’s, a simple pair of black jeans and a long sleeve Guns’n’Roses tee, and his usual pair of brow-line glasses - he finally headed downstairs. He could smell it; pancakes, bacon and eggs. His stomach growled from the almost heavenly smell. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Before Richie knew it, his family and him were sitting at the table for one last breakfast in this house. In this state, even, all eating silently. They were moving to a small town in Oregon - Richie still couldn’t remember the name but he knew it would be a just over 9 hour drive - and his mind was stuck on the change it would be and how he would adjust. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">After a small conversation, and everyone was finished eating, the family gathered up any left over things that would fit into Bailey and David’s cars, rather than finding spaces for them in the already packed boxes that would be going in one of the moving trucks that David had hired for the move. After that was dealt with, the two brothers’ friends each came over to say goodbye. Sure, Richie and Will would be able to text their friends, but they knew that it wouldn’t be the same as being able to see them almost every single day for years. Emma, their sister, had already said goodbye to her friends the day prior. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">——————————</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">After saying goodbye to most of his friends, Richie turned his attention to May. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">May West was one of his closest friends, and had been since childhood. They were 16 now, almost 17, and already had a bunch of history.Good memories, and some shared bad ones. They had dated since they were 14, and only broke up recently because they both knew they wouldn’t be able to deal with the distance. Richie didn’t like the idea of leaving any of that behind, the feeling weighing on him as he looked into her chocolate brown eyes. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Call me when you get there and have everything set up, okay Rich?” May asked, a small frown on her lips, soft hands gripping gently to the sleeves of his shirt. Richie immediately nodded. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"> “of course, M. You take care of the others, okay? They’re idiots without me.” </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">That made May laugh softly, which almost made Richie feel a lot better. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Bold of your to assume you weren’t the idiot the entire time, Dick.” She humoured, without hesitation. </span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Bold of you to assume we aren’t all idiots.” He responded, lips stretched into a playful smirk. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Eventually, she pulled him down to give him a kiss on the cheek, a hug and another goodbye. After another short conversation, he had to go. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">And with that, the drive to their new home began. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading, I appreciate it so much!</p><p> </p><p>My Tumblr is diccismalls if you want to give feedback</p><p>I’m not super happy with this chapter but it’s just here to set things up for later chapters and stuff and to introduce some characters</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading, I appreciate it so much!</p><p> </p><p>My Tumblr is diccismalls if you want to give me feedback or anything</p><p>Chapter 1 should be posted within the next week</p></blockquote></div></div>
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